1. Field of the Invention
In general, the present invention relates to practice golf balls. More particularly, the present invention relates to practice golf balls that are well below regulation weight and travel only a short distance when struck with a golf club.
2. Description of the Prior Art
As with many different sports, the key to being a good golf player is practice. The more a player practices, the more likely it is that a player will master the skills needed to play the game of golf well. The problem with practicing golf is that golf is a game that requires a lot of room to play. As such, when people practice golf, many cannot do so at their homes. Rather, many people are required to travel to golf courses, driving ranges or open fields in order to practice. Because practicing golf requires many people to travel away from their homes, golf practice is typically not performed with the frequency desired by the player.
In an attempt to make golf practice simpler, practice golf balls have been developed. Practice golf balls have a weight that is below that of a regulation golf ball. Consequently, when the practice golf ball is hit with a club, it is more vulnerable to wind resistance and travels a much shorter distance than does a regulation golf ball.
There exist many different types and styles of practice golf balls. The most common practice golf balls are hollow practice balls made of molded plastic. Such practice balls weigh only a fraction of a regulation golf ball and wind resistance prevents these practice balls from traveling more than twenty feet when struck with a golf club. Such practice golf balls are also very inexpensive and simple to manufacture. However, such practice golf balls have thin plastic walls that are easily ruptured or indented by a golf club. Consequently, such practice golf balls have a very short life.
Another disadvantage of hollow plastic practice golf balls is that they do not have enough mass to significantly effect the golf club when the face of the golf club strikes the ball. Consequently, a player cannot tell from the sound of the golf club strike whether or not the golf ball was solidly hit.
In an attempt to make better practice golf balls that last longer and act more like regulation golf balls, solid practice golf balls have been developed that have deadened cores. Such prior art practice golf ball designs are exemplified by U.S. Pat. No. 1,981,959 to Landreth, entitled Practice Golf Ball; U.S. Pat. No. 4,836,552 to Puckett, entitled Short Distance Golf Ball; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,782,702 to Yamagishi, entitled Practice Golf Ball. A problem with solid practice golf balls is that they tend to have a significant mass. As such, they travel much farther than hollow practice golf ball. Furthermore, since such practice golf balls are solid, they use much more material than do hollow golf balls. Consequently, they are far more expensive to manufacture than are hollow golf balls.
A need therefore exists in the art for a practice golf ball that is lightweight and is inexpensive, yet is tough and significantly interacts with the face of a golf club when struck. This need is met by the present invention as described and claimed below.
The present invention is a practice golf ball and its associated method of manufacture. The practice golf ball includes a hollow inner shell made of inexpensive molded plastic. The inner shell is molded so that the outer surface of the inner shell contains a dimple pattern. A first coating covers the inner shell. The first coating is applied as a liquid, wherein the first coating conforms to the dimple pattern on the inner shell. The first coating has a degree of elasticity greater than that of the plastic inner shell. A second coating covers the first coating. The second coating is also applied as a liquid, wherein the second coating conforms to the dimple pattern of the inner shell and the intervening first coating. The second coating has a degree of tear resistance greater than that of the plastic inner shell.
The result is a low cost practice golf ball that has a lightweight yet strong elastic and tear resistant properties.